I don’t think we even need a drumroll here… Based on my background research into ketone-supplement companies, the survey of Diet Doctor users and the experiment itself, we cannot recommend taking these supplements. I can personally think of many more beneficial ways to invest money in my health, such as buying grass-fed meat and organic vegetables, or even buying a bicycle and riding it outside in the sunshine.
Would this be helpful for someone with Hypothyroidism and HPA Axis dysfunction? I started a Keto/IF lifestyle after watching your videos early July and though I feel so much better inflammation wise, I am not seeming to be super fat adaptive as of yet. Would KetoEdge stress out my body with these things going on? I’d love to try it but want to make sure first.
However, with the ketone esters, the effects are nearly immediate, and my entire body was humming throughout the entire day, but not in a jittery way. I was full of mental and physical energy that lasted without any sort of crash (it was a gradual taper). During my cognitive tests, things felt almost effortless as I played the various games. After my experiment was complete I continued writing code for several hours, then went to the gym to work out. I did forget to each lunch though, so there must be some suppressive effect on appetite.

The “BHB salt” is simply a compound that consists of sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), and the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate. In supplements like Pruvit’s Keto OS these individual components are being held together by ionic bonds; however, when you consume the product, it is absorbed into the blood where it dissociates into free Na+, K+, and BHB since it is a water-based solution. Thus, consuming the product directly and immediately puts more ketones into your blood.

Exogenous ketones have a wide range of benefits that can enhance your fat-burning lifestyle. I personally use them daily as a strategy to heighten my mental performance and give my workouts an extra boost. For these purposes, I have also found it logical to combine exogenous ketones with other known health and performance boosting agents such as branched-chain amino acids and medicinal mushrooms.

Ketogenic Diets and Physical Performance – Impaired physical performance is a common but not obligate result of a low carbohydrate diet. Lessons from traditional Inuit culture indicate that time for adaptation, optimized sodium and potassium nutriture, and constraint of protein to 15–25 % of daily energy expenditure allow unimpaired endurance performance despite nutritional ketosis.

Some think so because higher ketone levels imply increased fuel for the brain and heart (that prefer ketones), and increased protection against inflammation and oxidation. But are the health benefits coming from the ketones themselves, or are they coming from the state you have to put your body in to actually produce them? And if you're kicking yourself out of ketosis by ingesting ketones would you still get the same benefits?
If you've tried this type of diet before, or if you've done some research about it beforehand, then you should know that these ten tricks are necessary to get into a ketogenic state quickly, but you will be surprised at the number of people who actually jump on the ketogenic bandwagon without knowing any of the basics first. Remember: A good working knowledge coupled with an effective meal plan can go a long way.
Because of how effectively exogenous ketones can reduce hunger for those in ketosis, pay attention to the cues your body gives you. It’s possible to extend your fasts longer than necessary because of a decreased appetite cue. While those who have some weight to lose might be tempted to think this is a favorable side effect, there is a difference between fasting and starving for nutrients. Make sure to get enough food to support your activities and maintain your muscle mass.
In a keto-adapted individual where ketone metabolism is brisk with up to 100 grams or more being oxidized (i.e., ‘burned for energy’) daily, the small amount lost in breath and urine as acetone is minor. But because this breakdown occurs spontaneously without needing the help of enzymes, it also happens to AcAc in a stored beverage or food (even in an air-tight container), making the shelf-life of AcAc-containing products problematic. Thus all current ketone supplements consist of BOHB in some form rather than the naturally occurring mix of BOHB and AcAc produced by the liver.
Keto dieters love exogenous ketones because they help fight the keto flu and get you quickly into ketosis. One study found that taking drinks with exogenous ketones lowers blood levels of glucose, free fatty acid, and triglycerides [8]. The study concluded that exogenous ketones are a practical and effective way to achieve ketosis. Taking exogenous ketones longer will also speed up the process of keto-adaptation.
The CNS cannot use fat as an energy source; hence, it normally utilizes glucose. After 3–4 days without carbohydrate consumption the CNS is ‘forced' to find alternative energy sources, and as demonstrated by the classic experiments of Cahill and colleagues4 this alternative energy source is derived from the overproduction of acetyl coenzyme A (CoA). This condition seen in prolonged fasting, type 1 diabetes and high-fat/low-carbohydrate diets leads to the production of higher-than-normal levels of so-called ketone bodies (KBs), that is, acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyric acid and acetone—a process called ketogenesis and which occurs principally in the mitochondrial matrix in the liver.6
Effects of ketone supplementation on triglycerides and lipoproteins: Ketone supplementation causes little change in triglycerides and lipoproteins over a 4-week study. Graphs show concentrations at 4-weeks of total cholesterol (a), Triglycerides (b), LDL (c), and HDL (d). MCT supplemented rats had signfiicantly reduced concentration of HDL blood levels compared to control (p
Halitosis (bad breath) – If you’re on a ketogenic diet you are probably aware that as the body starts to metabolize fat, ketones can cause poor breath. There is very little one can do about this, it’s just the nature of the beast. Unfortunately, this can also arise when using exogenous ketones, but it’s not as lasting as when on a ketogenic diet. Chewing gum or mints is about the best option if it becomes a noticeable issue. This maybe caused by over consumption of the ketone supplement, tailoring the quantity consumed may prevent excess BHB being converted to acetone, which is likely excreted by the lungs.
Full disclosure: after carrying out the background research, I was already, as you might imagine, feeling a little less neutral about these products. You may have noticed a hint of that in part 1 of the 2-part video series we made about the project (watch part 2 at the top of this page!). However, and although this was by no means a controlled scientific study under laboratory conditions, we designed the experiment in a very objective way. The aim was to give the supplements the best possible chance of showing the benefits they are claimed to have.

Until there is more definitive information on the necessary blood levels and the differing proportions of BOHB an AcAc to optimize cellular and organ functions, it will be difficult to specify the dosing and duration of supplemental ketones. However for fuel use, and very likely for exercise performance as well, sustained blood levels of BOHB in the range of 0.5 mM to 1.0 mM are likely to be required. This is achieved physiologically by an estimated ketone production of 50-100 grams per day in a keto-adapted human.

Exogenous ketones are ketones that come in the form of a powder that you mix with water to drink them. Exogenous ketones are controversial in the keto world. The problem is the marketing of them have made some people believe that all they have to do is use this product to get into ketosis. If your blood glucose is too high your body will not use the ketones and they will go to waste.
Ketones are also a cleaner-burning fuel than carbs. They’re burned for energy in the mitochondria, and fewer free radicals (a highly-reactive, short-lived uncharged molecule) are generated when compared to burning glucose.15 What’s more, ketone molecules themselves cause a decrease in production of free radicals,21,22 while also increasing glutathione–a powerful antioxidant protecting against mitochondrial damage induced by free radicals.23

Recent studies suggest that many of the benefits of the KD are due to the effects of ketone body metabolism. Interestingly, in studies on T2D patients, improved glycemic control, improved lipid markers, and retraction of insulin and other medications occurred before weight loss became significant. Both βHB and AcAc have been shown to decrease mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production [36–39]. Veech et al. have summarized the potential therapeutic uses for ketone bodies [28, 40]. They have demonstrated that exogenous ketones favorably alter mitochondrial bioenergetics to reduce the mitochondrial NAD couple, oxidize the co-enzyme Q, and increase the ΔG’ (free enthalpy) of ATP hydrolysis [41]. Ketone bodies have been shown to increase the hydraulic efficiency of the heart by 28 %, simultaneously decreasing oxygen consumption while increasing ATP production [42]. Thus, elevated ketone bodies increase metabolic efficiency and as a consequence, reduce superoxide production and increase reduced glutathione [28]. Sullivan et al. demonstrated that mice fed a KD for 10–12 days showed increased hippocampal uncoupling proteins, indicative of decreased mitochondrial-produced ROS [43]. Bough et al. showed an increase of mitochondrial biogenesis in rats maintained on a KD for 4–6 weeks [44, 45]. Recently, Shimazu et al. reported that βHB is an exogenous and specific inhibitor of class I histone deacetylases (HDACs), which confers protection against oxidative stress [38]. Ketone bodies have also been shown to suppress inflammation by decreasing the inflammatory markers TNF-a, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, E-selectin, I-CAM, and PAI-1 [8, 46, 47]. Therefore, it is thought that ketone bodies themselves confer many of the benefits associated with the KD.

Hypoglycemia: why not to be concerned – Taking exogenous ketones can drive blood glucose levels quite low, but you are not likely to feel the typical symptoms of hypoglycemia. This is because when ketone levels are high enough, they dominate as fuel in the brain; hence, you will feel just fine despite having low blood glucose. A highly-cited study by George Cahill, found elevated ketone levels could protect fasted participants when they were administered insulin to induce hypoglycemia.
Individuals who have clinically unregulated blood sugar, such as those with diabetes, are cautioned to consult their trusted healthcare provider before choosing to use exogenous ketones. While it can be done safely, especially in the presence of a well-formulated ketogenic food plan, there may be a risk of blood sugar dropping unexpectedly low. There may be therapeutic value in this application, but close monitoring is key.
Thank you, Mark! I am an ME/CFS patient, and I have improved quite a bit on a ketogenic diet, which I have been following for the past 3 months. I am slowly losing weight (much needed) and I wondered, does using exogenous ketones inhibit fat loss? I’m trying to balance the benefits of continuing weight loss with benefits in dealing with ME/CFS symptoms. Thank you for any info you can offer!
There’s debate raging about which dietary tactic is the god particle for making you leaner, faster and healthier. How the ketogenic diet option squares off against the low carb route is vital for understanding the ways in which exogenous ketone supplements work. To get into ketosis the natural way, you need to keep your carb intake low enough for long enough for your body to begin using use fat as fuel. Your liver then converts a portion of that fat into energy molecules called ketones. These work together with glucose as a fuel source, but can actually kick in faster, allowing your body to operate more economically during lengthy, high-energy exercise efforts.

Ketone supplements: are they a groundbreaking boost to a low-carb diet, or should you be wary of the broad claims that companies make about their benefits? In this article you’ll learn all about exogenous ketone supplements and, what’s more, you’ll read about the experiment we ran on the supplements at our head office in Stockholm. How did ketone supplements perform when we put them to the test? Do they work? Read on to find out our verdict!

Onnit is an incredible company that’s making a massive impacts in the lives of athletes in nearly every sport. From Olympic Gold Medalists, to NFL middle linebackers, Onnit has taken athletic performance to a new level. Providing supplements, food, and training equipment, Onnit was an early adopter of the elite performance booster that is exogenous ketones!
Divided attention involves processing multiple streams of information. The game involves observing a pond full of koi fish swimming around, and tapping each fish only once to feed it a pellet without feeding any fish previously fed. Each level adds more fish with increasing speed and redirection. It’s similar to pretending to be an air-traffic controller who must keep track of every plane on their radar.
That’s exactly what ketones do: inhibit lipolysis, the breakdown of body fat into triglycerides and free fatty acids for burning. In normal conditions where ketones are produced endogenously, this is expected and beneficial. If homemade ketones increased lipolysis, you’d end up with ketoacidosis. You’d make ketones which released more body fat which got turned into more ketones which released more body fat which became more ketones. And on and on. It simply wouldn’t stop.
Since beta hydroxybutyrate is transported throughout the body via the blood, the best way to check your true BHB levels is through a blood test. The good news is that you can just use a simple finger prick and an at home method that is very similar to how diabetics check their glucose. The bad news is that it can be pretty expensive. Each strip and time you test can be around $4-6.
MCT oil has recently been used to induce nutritional ketosis although it produces dose-dependent gastrointestinal (GI) side effects in humans that limit the potential for its use to significantly elevate ketones (>0.5 mM). Despite these limitations, Azzam and colleagues published a case report in which a 43-year-old-man had a significant decrease in seizure frequency after supplementing his diet with 4 tablespoons of MCT oil twice daily [96]. An attempt to increase his dosage to 5 tablespoons twice daily was halted by severe GI intolerance. Henderson et al. observed that 20 % of patients reported GI side effects with a 20 g dose of ketogenic agent AC-1202 in a double blind trial in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s patients [24]. We visually observed similar gastrointestinal side effects (loose stools) in the rats treated with MCT oil in our study. Rats were closely monitored to avoid dehydration, and gastric motility returned to normal between 12–24 h. Interestingly, the BMS + MCT supplement elevated βHB similarly to MCT oil alone, without causing the adverse gastrointestinal effects seen in MCT-supplemented rats. However, this could be due to the fact in a 10 g/kg dose of BMS + MCT, only 5 g/kg is MCT alone, which is less than the 10 g/kg dose that elicits the GI side effects. This suggests that this novel combination may provide a more useful therapeutic option than MCT oil alone, which is limited in its ability to elevate ketones in humans.
Human's ability to produce and oxidize ketone bodies arguably evolved to enhance survival during starvation by providing an energy source for the brain and slowing the breakdown of carbohydrate and protein stores (Owen et al., 1967; Sato et al., 1995; Marshall, 2010). The brain is normally reliant on carbohydrate as a substrate, being less able to metabolize lipids, despite adipose tissue representing a far larger energy store than muscle and liver glycogen. Therefore, during starvation, lipids are used for hepatic ketogenesis and, via ketone bodies, lipids sustain the brain. Endogenous production of the ketone bodies, d-β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) and acetoacetate (AcAc), increases slowly, driven by interactions between macronutrient availability (i.e., low glucose and high free fatty acids) and hormonal signaling (i.e., low insulin, high glucagon and cortisol). Produced continuously under physiological conditions, blood ketone concentrations increase during starvation (Cahill, 1970), when consuming a “ketogenic” (low carbohydrate, high-fat) diet (Gilbert et al., 2000) or following prolonged exercise (Koeslag et al., 1980).
Instead of being bound to a mineral (like ketone salts), the ketone molecule (BHB or AcAc) is bound to a ketone precursor (e.g. butanediol or glycerol) via an ester bond. While there aren't as many esters on the market as salts, there is still some variance–especially when looking at the ketone molecule in these products. Before selecting the best one for you, it's important to gather all the necessary information to make your decision.
I just read your comment and was wondering the same thing. I can see how exogenous ketones can be a great energy boost to people on the ketogenic diet, but I don’t see how they can speed fat loss. Keto OS claims you can eat higher carbs and still see the benefits of ketosis. I don’t see how that is possible. the whole point of weight loss through ketosis is the breaking down of your own fat to create energy. I don’t see how exogenous energy will increase natural fat breakdown. I wish I could get a straight answer to this from somebody.
I think almost everyone agrees with me when I say that the ketogenic diet is probably one of the most complex and difficult eating plans out there. Even when you’re not on a diet or trying to lose weight you still have to bring a lot of attention to detail. Getting into ketosis isn’t as important as we would think, but there are still 5 simple steps we can make to get into a ketotic state.
As stated above, there appears to be a difference between supplemental and dietary calcium intake, which can be important to keep in mind. One study found aggregate calcium intakes above 1400 mg per day (from dietary and supplemental intake combined) to be associated with higher death rates, cardiovascular disease, and ischemic heart disease in women[15]. A 2014 meta-analysis found an association between dietary calcium intake and cardiovascular mortality[16]. The meta-analysis actually found a u-shaped relationship, where dietary calcium intakes that were both lower and greater than 800 mg/day were gradually associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.
The other option – which is the superior option – is the breakdown of fat into a fuel that can be used by the brain. This is a beautiful solution, because even the leanest individual will have weeks and weeks’ worth of energy stored as body fat. The body breaks down this fat in the liver and converts it into ketone bodies. The brain can then utilise these ketones as a fuel source – forgoing the need for stored glucose or constant consumption of carbohydrates. These ketones can also be used to make ATP.
The human studies aren’t quite there yet, but it seems likely that they’d help. A recent human case study found that ketone esters added to the regular diet improved Alzheimer’s symptoms. Animal studies indicate that adding exogenous ketones to a regular lab (read: not ketogenic) diet can reduce seizure activity and improve overall symptoms in epilepsy animal models, reverse early neuronal hyperactivity in Alzheimer’s animal models, and reduce anxiety in rats.

It might sound absolutely crazy to go that long without food. Especially when you consider traditional diets that recommend eating 3-5 small meals each day, starting with breakfast – the “most important” meal of the day. But if you think back to hunter gatherer times, human beings didn’t always have food accessible to us. Farming and agriculture hadn’t existed so our first meal each day would vary quite vastly. If you think about the word itself, ‘breakfast’ means to break-fast. We didn’t have a set time where we would consume our first meal – it was dependent on accessibility. So if you’re wondering how you’re going to survive without going for food for 16 hours, the answer is straight forward – you can! Let’s simplify this and break down what this may potentially look like.

Zenwise, you should consider offering this through an email subscriber list to gain **more** loyal (& repeat) customers by offering them better prices. We all know it's cheaper to find ways to keep customers than to go out and find new ones (about 5x cheaper in fact!), plus my guess is Amazon is getting 30% margin AT LEAST). If I saw that you offered a 25% discount when buying directly, I'd keep using the product.

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Medical Disclaimer: The material on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.